BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should overhaul its freight transport system by reducing bureaucracy and promoting rail and river networks to make the industry more environmentally friendly, the EU executive said on Thursday.

The European Commission laid out a set of proposals aimed at increasing the efficiency of freight while cutting costs and improving services across several different transport modes. It called for a European rail network which would prioritize freight as well as measures to prepare ports for increasing demand and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"The measures which I have presented today will ... make rail, maritime and inland waterway transport more attractive and more competitive," EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said.

The volume of goods transported in Europe is expected to increase by 50 percent between 2000 and 2020, the Commission said, highlighting the need to reduce congestion and tackle emissions blamed for contributing to climate change.